Spacey assaults made me feel sick, says accuser in cross-examination

1. The second day of the trial of US actor Kevin Spacey is under way in London this morning
2. He is facing 12 sexual offence charges against four men, which he denies
3. On Monday, the jury heard one of the men calling Spacey "a slippery, snaky, difficult person" and that the alleged assaults were "almost like grooming"
4. The complainant tells the court during cross-examination that the alleged incidents made him feel sick
5. The alleged victims are now in their 30s and 40s, with the incidents said to have happened between 2001 and 2013
6. The trial is expected to last between three and four weeks - you can't watch it, but there will be text updates here
7. Warning - this page will include sexual references and may be distressing to readers

Goodbye for now

We're now pausing our live coverage after the second day of Kevin Spacey's trial in London.

Reporting from court were Thomas Mackintosh and Helena Wilkinson, with Marita Moloney and Charley Adams in the BBC's newsroom in London. Thanks for joining us.

You can read more about what happened in court today here.

What the court heard today

The second day of Kevin Spacey's trial has finished up and the jury have been sent home. Here's an overview of what happened in court today:

• The session began with the jury being shown a video recording of the interview the complainant first gave to the police
• Spacey would make me very uncomfortable, the man told police, detailing allegations of the actor assaulting him "up to 12 times"
• The complainant described the actor as a "slippery, snaky, difficult person"
• The man was later questioned from behind a curtain by defence barrister Patrick Gibbs KC, where he said the first time an alleged incident happened he felt “shocked"
• Asked how he had felt over time, the accuser said: "A mixture, ashamed, embarrassment or shock"
• "I was not flirtatious", the accuser told the court, adding that the alleged incidents made him feel sick
• Before the cross-examination ended, the defence contested claims about Spacey being naked before the complainant in his apartment or hotel rooms
• Spacey denies all the allegations in this case

Court finishes for the day

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Patrick Gibbs KC has finished his cross-examination of the accuser

Prosecutor Christine Agnew KC then asks a couple of questions in her re-examination.

The judge says he has no further questions and sends the jury home for the day.

Court will resume tomorrow morning.

Defence contests claim about Spacey being naked before complainant

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Patrick Gibbs KC says Spacey was “never naked in his apartment or hotel rooms”.

The accuser tells jurors: “I saw him naked, yes.”

“I am going to say that is not true,” adds Gibbs.

He queries whether the complainant told anyone, but the man says he did tell people about what had happened to him.

Accuser denies 'jumping on a bandwagon'

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Turning to why the accuser decided to come forward when the allegations against Spacey first emerged years ago, Patrick Gibbs KC queries whether the news of the claims had any influence.

“Others had come forward,” the complainant told jurors. “I felt it was time to tell the truth. It was the right time, it had been long enough.

“I was thinking about it before. Strength in numbers.”

Gibbs asked if it had occurred to the witness he might be able to sue the Hollywood actor.

“It had,” he says.

“How much?” Gibbs continues.

“No idea,” the complainant says. “Whatever it would be, it wouldn't be enough.”

Gibbs asks: “In 2022 you saw a bandwagon and decided to hop on board?"

“Not true at all,” the accuser replies.

I was not flirtatious, accuser tells court

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Defence barrister Patrick Gibbs KC reads out a description of the complainant where someone describes him as a person who is “comfortable with light-hearted banter and flirtatious”.

“No I wasn’t flirtatious,” the accuser answers.

“You appreciated that attention?” Gibbs continues to ask.

“No not at all,” says the accuser.

Alleged incident on the way to Elton John party untrue, says defence

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

“There was this momentous assault while you were on the way to Elton John’s white tie and tiara ball,” Patrick Gibbs KC references.

“That is completely untrue,” the defence barrister says.

“Kevin Spacey went once to the white tiara ball and that was in 2001.”

The complainant, who had said the alleged incident in question occurred in the mid-2000s, says: “You’ll have to forgive me if I’ve got the dates wrong, it happened 20 years ago."

Accuser says he kept photo of him and Spacey

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

“I kept a few things from him, but I kept the bare minimum,” the complainant tells the court during cross-examination.

Patrick Gibbs KC asks if the accuser kept a photo of him with Spacey, to which the man acknowledges this is correct.

“It is quite a cosy photo?” Gibbs asks.

The man answers: “It’s a normal photo, two men standing next to each other."

Complainant says alleged assaults made him feel sick

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

“Even though someone was assaulting me at the time, I still kept the letter,” the accuser tells the court.

“As you say it was a nice, friendly letter.”

Defence barrister Patrick Gibbs KC asks if the letter from Spacey made the man “feel sick”

“When he was assaulting me it made me feel sick,” he answers.

“Thinking about them made me sick, but receiving that letter I didn't think too much about it to be honest.”

Jurors consider letter sent to accuser from Spacey

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The accuser is back in the box, behind the curtain, and he continues to field questions from Spacey’s defence barrister.

Patrick Gibbs KC starts by asking the complainant to look at some documents from the jury bundle before he hands out another set of folders to the 12 jurors.

They look at a letter sent from Spacey to the complainant.

“Were you pleased to receive it?” Gibbs asks.

The accuser replies: “Absolutely, who wouldn’t be?”

Gibbs says it is a “jolly letter” and not one which was “pompous”.

Cross-examination of Spacey accuser continues

Helena Wilkinson

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The jury is back in court and defence barrister Patrick Gibbs KC is continuing his cross-examination of Kevin Spacey's accuser, who we are calling complainant one.

What Spacey is accused of by the first complainant

Helena Wilkinson

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Kevin Spacey faces seven charges in relation to complainant one, who has been giving evidence in court. They are:

• Three sexual assault charges
• Three indecent assault charges
• One causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent

These offences are alleged to have been committed by Spacey in the 2000s.

Why the complainants get anonymity

Helena Wilkinson

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

It’s worth remembering that the complainants in this case have a legal right to lifelong anonymity.

That's because they are alleged victims of a sexual offence, which means by law their names cannot be published.

We also need to ensure that the information we tell you does not lead to jigsaw identification.

That's when bits of information when pieced together can lead to someone being identified.

It means there may be some details we need to leave out from our reporting because of this.

Spacey in court - sketch

Remember, we are not legally allowed to film (or record) in court. But here's a sketch from the artist Julia Quenzler, who's in the courtroom today.

Julia Quenzler

What we've heard so far

On the second day of Kevin Spacey's trial, we've been hearing from the first complainant who the actor is facing seven charges in relation to. This is what we've heard so far:

• The session began with the jury being shown a video recording of the interview the complainant first gave to police
• Spacey would make me very uncomfortable, the man tells police, detailing allegations of the actor assaulting him "up to 12 times"
• The complainant described the actor as a "slippery, snaky, difficult person"

• The man was then questioned from behind a curtain by defence barrister Patrick Gibbs KC, where he says the first time an alleged incident happened he felt “shocked”

• Asked how he had felt over time, the accuser said: "A mixture, ashamed, embarrassment or shock"
• Spacey denies all the allegations in this case

The trial is due to resume just after 14:00. Stay with us as we bring you updates from court.

The court breaks for lunch

Helena Wilkinson

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

The jurors have been told they can take a break for lunch.

The judge has asked them to return at 14.05.

Accuser dismisses question about sexuality

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

Before finishing for a lunch break, the man dismisses a “ridiculous” question from Spacey’s barrister about the complainant’s sexuality.

Patrick Gibbs KC then says he will turn to documents and the jury bundle after the break in an hour or so.

'It is not something I would ever say I have overcome' - complainant

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

“I still feel ashamed today,” the complainant tells the court.

“It is not something I would ever say I have overcome.”

Patrick Gibbs KC goes on again about the final incident the complainant alleges against Kevin Spacey - in particular how strong the actor’s grip was.

He recalls: “We were going to a party and maybe cause he’d had a few drinks beforehand he was not aware of how strong his grip was, but he grabbed me very hard on the penis and it literally winded me.

“That’s when I was angry, that’s when I said don’t do it again.

“That was the end for me, he wasn’t bothered. I was getting angrier and angrier. I didn't want to go down that road.”

Accuser tells court he never made first move

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

As the complainant continues to give evidence from behind the curtain, Patrick Gibbs KC asks: “You never made the first move?”

“Never,” he answers.

Gibbs goes on: “But you did sometimes put your hand on his leg for a little while?”

“No,” the man says as he adds he was “never aroused”.

“I am not a confused person.”

Complainant says he felt ashamed and embarrassed

Thomas Mackintosh

Reporting from Southwark Crown Court

“I would make it crystal clear I don’t like that and don’t do it again,” the accuser tells the court.

He accepted he kept the alleged incidents “secret”.

Defence barrister Patrick Gibbs KC asks what emotions the man had over time.

“A mixture, ashamed, embarrassment or shock,” the complainant answers.

“He would grab [with] his hand and just do it for a few seconds then I’d push it away. He was forceful with his hand grip."